When veteran Jim Ward took over as head coach of the Milano Seamen for their second season in the European League of Football, he was faced with a daunting task.
The team had finished with a dismal 2-10 record in 2023. Now, with five games left, the Seamen sit at 3-4 and while not in contention for the playoffs they are in far better shape than last year at this time.
That shouldn’t surprise given Ward’s coaching background.
The 66-year-old native of Canyon, Texas has a record as a coach in Europe that is impressive. This is his second year in the ELF. In 2023, he was defensive coordinator for the Helvetic Guards who were also new to the league last year. He had moved to the Guards from the Braunschweig New Yorker Lions in the German Football League where he served as defensive coordinator in 2022. The Lions defense proved to be one of the few bright sparks for the team that season, ranking third overall in the GFL for points and yards allowed.
Prior to that, Ward led the Fehervar Enthroners to their first ever Hungarian Football League championship in 2019 in his first year as Head Coach. He had spent the two previous seasons coaching the Carinthian Lions in Austria’s Division 1 after having been head coach of the Prague Black Panthers in the 2015 and 2016 seasons playing in both the Austrian Football League and the Czech league. The Black Panthers won back-to-back Czech titles while also reaching the Austrian semifinals in 2015.
In 2013, he guided the Örebro Black Knights to the Swedish Superserien title game. In his first two seasons coaching in Europe, Ward was at the helm of the Seinäjoki Crocodiles in Finland’s Maple League and led the team to a 18-2 overall regular season record over the two years, taking the team to the Maple Bowl championship game in 2011 and the semifinals in 2012.
Ward has spent many years as a high school football coach in Texas while also coaching various positions at the University of Mary Hardin Baylor (NCAA Div. III) and Carson Newman College (NCAA Div. II).
AFI: You may well be one of the most experienced North American coaches in Europe. However, this is your first stint as head coach in the ELF after being DC for the Helvetic Guards in 2023. What kind of adjustments have you had to make, if any, this season with the Seamen?
Ward: As always when you become a HC of a team there is a time period to learn about the players and coaches and where they fit. It is a challenge to get that part right and be competitive.
AFI: You have had a rocky start to the season, but in terms of wins and losses an improvement over last year at this point. How do you feel about the second half of the year?
Ward: The start to the season was a bit rocky as described above and of course playing some talented teams in the first four weeks such as Tirol, Munich and Stuttgart will get your attention. We have the opportunity to vastly improve in the second half of the season and that is the goal
AFI: Has the league improved since you entered it last year?
Ward: The League has improved with overall talent but has a long way go with being a professiona, financially sound organization. Need to create a system where parity is the goal and for smaller markets to be competitive in every aspect.
AFI: The ELF has adopted the XFL kickoff rule which the NFL will now be using. Are there other rules changes you would like to see?
Ward: I am totally against the NFL KO rule. I would encourage the rules committee to think for themselves, just because they do it in the States doesn’t mean you have to follow suit. Eliminate the QB giving himself up. It’s a really stupid rule. Targeting – you must have definitive video evidence. Challenge eliminated in last two minutes, why ?? Makes zero sense.
Next up for the Seaman are the Fehervar Enthroners on July 20.